


When Life Gives You Lemon Cake

by 0idontknow0



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fanfiction, M/M, Rating: NC17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 04:13:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1290880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0idontknow0/pseuds/0idontknow0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry volunteers to be a group leader for the Hogwarts Summer Camp. To his surprise, so does Draco Malfoy, who's victim to kid pranks and pretty much hated by the majority of the children. Harry decides to join in on the fun of pranking his old nemesis. What can Malfoy do anyway?</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Life Gives You Lemon Cake

**Author's Note:**

> My first fest fic ever. Written for hd_smoochfest 2010
> 
> **Disclaimer:** All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Contains:** mild violence, sexual situations

 

 

"Therefore two persons will be assigned to each year." Headmistress McGonogall said as she finished her speech. Harry had tried to listen, really he had, but he was distracted by one of his fellow volunteers. He had been shocked to see a head of white blond hair when he entered the Great Hall and ever since then he kept glancing over at his former rival. All he could think was _Why the bloody hell is Malfoy here?_ If it were not for Hermione and her (usual) logic he may have all but hexed the man silly.

"Potter, are you paying attention?" the Headmistress asked.

"... N- Yes. Yes I am." He said, a bit shocked.

"Now then, the empty lot beside the Quidditch pitch is where you shall all camp out. You will have access to the pitch and equipment, but do be careful. Ms. Parkinson."

"Headmistress?" Pansy replied. Her hair as short and her eyes were sharp, they glistened with curiosity.

"If anyone is injured please see to them until Madame Pomfrey is able to." Pansy gave a curt nod before turning her attention to a young man on her right.

"Pansy?" Ron said a tad too loudly, "Why is she tending to the injured?"

"Weasley," she said in an oddly polite tone, "I've been training to become a Medi-Witch for the past three years."

"You didn't even finish your seventh year."

"Unlike some persons, I didn't skip out the year and actually did my work so that I could pass my N.E.W.T.S. War or no war." Pansy brushed a strand of hair out of her face and the Headmistress assigned the pairs for each year.

"First years: Finnigan and Parkinson

Second years: Ron Weasley and Greengrass

Third years: Lovegood and Chang

Fourth years: Granger and Malfoy

Fifth years: Ginevra Weasley and Watson

Sixth years: Potter and Zabini

All right then. Gather the items you will need. A list of names has been prepared for you as well as all the necessary equipment. And please do not harass the students. You may not go to school here anymore but I can surely find ways to punish you. Well, get to it."

Harry sighed as he walked over to the supplies, Zabini had gone for the lists. He took a phial of dittany and a few pepper-ups in case any of the students met in an accident or caught a cold. Parkinson may be qualified but she may also be in a different area at the time of an accident.

"Got the lists." Zabini said. At that the two men began collecting maps, tents and water thermoses. Once everyone had gathered their equipment they trekked to the open land beside Quidditch pitch.

"Malfoy." Harry heard Hermione say from behind him. "Malfoy, hey. Would you stop for a moment." Harry glanced behind him and watched as Malfoy turned to Hermione, obviously annoyed at something.

"You don't have to carry it all yourself you know." Hermione was ever the one to look for peaceful arrangements.

"Granger, apart from being gentlemanly, I am a wizard, I can simply levitate the supplies." Harry could not help but look at how the other man's lips curved when he spoke. Levitate, the word looked appealing.

Once they all reached their destination they divided the space for each year. The supplies were put in their respective areas and the tents for the first years were set up. The other years would have to set up on their own.

By mid afternoon Harry and company were settled and had their belongings placed in their tents. Malfoy and Hermione would be sharing a tent, much to Ron and Harry's displeasure. They had little time to complain however, since the students were on their way. Specks of colour were visible and a few persons seemed to be running towards the camp site while others looked like they were lagging behind. Harry heard Blaise chuckle beside him.

* * *

Draco sighed as a herd of children approached him and his colleagues. Signing up as a camp coordinator sounded in some way interesting at first, but now, as he looked at the mass of hormonal teens that were getting ever closer, he thought to himself that perhaps volunteering at St. Mungo's as a filing clerk would have been a better idea.

Once all the students had gathered by the camp site they were divided into their respective year groups. When that was done they were taken to their areas and a role call was carried out. Draco read out the names and marked them off accordingly. There were forty-two persons in the fourth year group, 25 boys and 17 girls. He began to work out the sleeping arrangements as Granger introduced them, as if the children did not already know her as part of the Chosen One's trio and him as the former Death Eater.

"Malfoy?" A young girl bellowed. "You mean the Death Eater? How'd they allow a twit like him to look after people's children?" She was short, fair skinned and her shoulder length hair looped and curled. She made him think of that Muggle girl in the children's story, he believed they called her Golden Locks, or something of the sort.

"Now Bethany, it is Bethany right?" the girl nodded in confirmation and Granger continued, "That's no way to talk about your camp coordinator. Or anyone for that matter."

"What's wrong Beth? Afraid he'll steal you away and torture you?" a young boy said. He was plump and had dark brown hair, he looked somewhat like Vincent and Draco felt his stomach knot at the thought of his lost comrade.

"You lot finished making Death Eater jokes?" Draco said as he held up the parchment in his hand. Before they could reply he read out the sleeping arrangements. There were nine tents, excluding his and Granger's, and each was able to hold five persons. The boys were split up into five groups of five and the girls into four groups, one of which had a fifth member. They were sent to set up their tents as he and Granger supervised. On his way to the third group Granger approached him. He eyed her suspiciously.

"Malfoy, they're just kids, they don't mean it," she said to him as if they never been bitter rivals in the past. The sincerity in her voice was disconcerting to him since he was not used to it, especially not from Granger.

"When you were their age," he replied as he looked out at them, "you would have meant it, wouldn't you?" He looked at her then.

"..." she frowned slightly, "I suppose I would have."

"You punched me in the face Granger. Of course you meant it," he said as he observed the group of girls whose tent seemed to collapsed on one of them.

"You were a right git though. What else was I sup-"

"One of the girls seems to be in distress," he cut her off and strode away towards them.

Draco could only see the lower half of the girl, her feet kicking about wildly and her muffled cries for help came from within the tent. The girls around her were in a slight panic and the only calm one was trying to get the trapped girl to calm down. Draco hid his amusement and tried to get the group of girls away from her. Granger had her wand out and told the girl to calm down a bit as he ushered the girls away. Granger set the tent up properly around the girl and he cast a levitation charm at her before she could slide down the steps inside the tent and the group members screamed in fright, a hex flew at him and he cast a _protego_ and then set the girl on the ground.

"Don't you dare point your wand at her you brute!" one of the girls screamed at him. As he turned towards the boys' section of the camp he sighed inwardly. It would be a long and trying two weeks.

* * *

By the second night, around six pranks had already been pulled on Malfoy. The fourth years he was in charge of seemed to hate his very core, well most the campers did, and more than a few of the coordinators as well.

When Malfoy woke up after the first night it was to discover that his hair had been changed to a ghastly shade of red. He had come out of the showers in a huff (they were using the showers by the Quidditch pitch, which was quite a task considering the number of people) and glared at all his possible offenders. With his hair that red and his skin flushed from the warm shower, Harry thought he looked appealing in some ways, granted the anger in his eyes helped him to look like some sort of demon on the prowl. Surprisingly though, Malfoy did not throw one of his usual tantrums. His eyes were cold and his voice was low.

"Which one of you was it?" he had asked, eyes skimming the crowd, snickers and giggles could be heard all over, silence falling where ever Malfoy's eyes went.

At breakfast a sixth year girl had vanished Malfoy's clothes, apparently seeing him in his pants had gotten some of them curious. Harry had had to force himself to look away from Malfoy's bits and stop the campers from getting out of hand. Happy to say though, he was not disappointed by what he saw.

During supper Harry could not help but laugh as Malfoy's face tinged with red as he spat and sputtered. It seemed someone had added some extra heat to his food. Harry's laughter subsided and he was met with a glare from his partner Blaise.

"It's not funny, Potter," Blaise started. "The entire wizarding world hates him and his family."

"With good reason, Zabini." Ron leaned over and stated.

"What's that supposed to mean, Weasley?"

"Well he did fight alongside You-Know-Who."

"Ron's got a point you know," Harry said before drinking a mouthful of pumpkin juice. Pansy was tending to Malfoy on the other side of the campfire.

"He's got no point Potter." Blaised looked over at Malfoy with a softened expression, "He was forced to do the Dark Lord's bidding. Otherwise his family would have been killed."

"Dark Lord or not, he was still an evil git," Ron mumbled to Harry.

"What was that Weasley?" Blaise snapped at him.

"Nothing mate." Ron said before biting into his bread.

"Hmph." Blaise got up and went over to Malfoy.

"Say, Ron." Harry said as he watched the blond man.

"How about a few pranks of our own?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Ron smiled, "Best not tell 'Mione 'bout this."

That night Harry and Ron snuck into the fourth year coordinators' tent. As fellow coordinators they were allowed safely through the wards. Harry snuck into Malfoy's bed chamber as quietly as possible and Ron followed closely behind. Malfoy was wrapped in his sheets, lying on his left side and facing the wall. His hair fell into his face and his expression was peaceful. Harry felt a stirring in his chest, as well as parts of his that should have ignored Malfoy's rosy lips and flushed cheeks.

Ron nudged him and Harry swallowed hard, trying to get his bearings. It was ridiculous how the man could affect him so much, as if he had not learned his lesson. Smiling his pulled his wand out and pointed it at the bed. Harry cast a wordless spell and transfigured the bed and sheets into a mass of lemon cake. Ron flicked his wand and Harry watched as the pillow turned into lemon icing. Malfoy was now sandwiched between two layers of cake. To Harry's surprise he looked delectable.

Harry watched as Ron reached into his pocket and put out a jar of ants. Harry vanished the lid and the ants were set on the bed. Before leaving Harry stopped and glanced at Malfoys clothes, He looked at Ron and the smiled simultaneously. They transfigured his clothes into Gryffindor red and then placed a sticking charm on the drapery to Malfoy's room. It was about an hour until everyone would wake so the two rushed back to their tents.

Unable to keep calm Harry got a fresh change of clothes and headed to the showers. His mind was filled with images of Malfoy's sleeping form. Harry had found out about his preference in men a few months after the war. He and Ginny just were not making any progress. He loved her yea, but not in a romantic way. No matter what she did he just would not react to her the way he did to a man. They had ended their relationship on fairly good terms considering how it could have gone. Ginny was understanding but Ron, he took a while to accept the fact that his best friend was gay.

Harry turned on the shower, warm water beating down on his body. He soaped up, washing himself clean. His bath soap smelled of coconut lime, mild and pleasing to his senses. With almost everywhere thoroughly scrubbed Harry squeezed some body wash into his palm. He began to slowly caress his length before wrapping his fingers around it. He leaned back onto the tiles, the coolness causing him to gasp, warm water beating on his chest, running down his abdomen. He stroked once, twice, three times and soon he was pumping his fist, his eyes closed as he imagined himself licking up and down an icing covered body. Harry could practically taste the lemon on his tongue. He imagined grunts and moans coming from a body that writhed beneath him. The other man was pale and slim.

Harry's hand pumped harder.

_A chest, a collarbone, a neck, Harry caressed them all._

His hand pumped faster.

_A familiar jaw, rosy lips, lips that spat insults at him for so many years._

Harry's movements became erratic.

_A sharp nose, closed eye lids._

Harry was panting now, desperate.

_Slowly they opened, blue-grey eyes revealing themselves to him._

Harry bit his lip and moaned as he felt his release. He did not want to hear that name on his lips. The man was attractive in a physical way and nothing more. Harry washed himself off and exited the shower. Zabini was putting his clothes on in the changing room and he smirked at Harry before putting on his shirt. He picked up his things.

"Had a good wank Potter?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Wh-"

"Don't worry. He's excellent wank material. Even Pansy admits it." with that said Zabini walked out leaving Harry a bit perplexed, as well as red faced.

* * *

Draco was having problems moving. In fact, his bed felt too soft, and sticky. His pillow was not a pillow. Draco opened his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could not be sure of it, but he smelled lemon icing. He looked down to see himself sandwiched between two layers of cake, lemon cake if his nose was right. There were also ants. They were crawling all around him. If it were not for the layer of cake atop him they would be nibbling away at his skin.

Draco tore through the cake and dug himself out. Half his face felt odd, he licked the left side of his mouth and was met with the taste of lemon icing. He looked behind him and sighed tiredly. His pillow was a blob of icing and that meant that his hair was covered in it. Ants had started crawling on his skin and Draco quickly got out of bed, cake chunks going in every direction.

He went to get his wand but stopped once he saw them. His clothes. They were red. They were Gryffindor red. Draco could feel himself getting angrier, he grabbed his wand and made to storm out of his chambers in a massive tantrum but the draperies at the exit did not budge and he fell backwards. Seething he bellowed for the only person who could hear him.

"Granger! Granger! Wake up would you!" he yelled as he angrily tried to spell the drapes open. Forgoing logical methods he cast an _incendio_ at the things and smiled in satisfaction as they burned before him.

"Malfoy!" Granger shouted as she out the flames, oddly enough that upset him a bit. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? And why are you covered in... in cake?"

"I'm burning the draperies and ask the little heathens outside about the latter," he replied, walking out his room and wiping icing off his face. Granger was in a shirt and her knickers and he had to admit that she looked somewhat attractive. If he was straight he would probably pursue her.

"Why are you burning the draperies? And the campers can't get in here, only fellow coordinators." she wiped some cake off his arm and sniffed at it. "Hm. Lemon."

"They wouldn't open, and forgive me but I'm going to kill Potter and Weasley," he said storming towards the exit. Granger grabbed his arm, he turned around in time to see her grimace at the way the cake squished under her palm.

"Malfoy, wait. They wouldn't."

"They would."

"... Alright fine. They most likely would. But only to upset you," she let him go and tried to wipe the cake off on his shirt. He raised an eyebrow at her as he glanced where she touched.

"Well, they've succeeded. I'm peeved."

Granger rolled her eyes at him, "What I'm trying to say is that if you act like nothing happened they'll be bothered."

Draco smirked then. "Alright Granger. I'll ignore it, but I get to tell Weasley that I saw you in your knickers."

"What!" she looked down and her cheeks flushed. Draco leaned in to her.

"And lace ones at that," he said as he pinched the fabric. She slapped his hand away, blushing furiously.

"Malfoy, you perverted little-"

"Don't worry. I'm only interested in persons of the male sex," he said, she stared at him in shock. "Well come along then. You're helping me clean up."

With some of his things in order and his cake-bed replaced, Draco and Hermione (because she was no longer Granger to him) exited the tent laughing and scented with lemon. Hermione had managed to return some of Draco's clothes to their natural colours and he had removed the lemon cake from his room and replaced it with a bed from an empty room in the tent. Draco did his best to fix the draperies and they looked somewhat decent. It was yet to be known if they had gotten all the ants out of the room though. After deciding that any further cleaning would cause them to be late they left his room. A few cleaning charms and the two did not look like they had just finished cleaning up ridiculous amounts of cake and icing. Draco then headed to the showers far more relaxed than when he had woken up that morning and in exchange for all her help he decided not to tell the Weasel about Hermione's rather appealing knickers.

After breakfast Draco took half the group to play Quidditch against the sixth years, the other half was going to have a diving excursion in the Loch Lake under Hermione's supervision. Draco had changed into his gear right after breakfast and was waiting for the campers to finish changing. Once all the fourth year campers were out Draco had them do warm up exercises and stretch their limbs. A few were reluctant to listen, per usual, and rather than persist that they do, he kindly told them about the many injuries one may incur by failing to properly prepare their body for strenuous exercise. That seemed to get them going.

Potter and his team strode onto the field laughing and smiling, a few of the sixth years scoffing at the fourths. Draco glanced at his team, they looked suddenly nervous. He sighed and walked into the middle of the group.

"Team," he said as he glanced around at them. Reluctantly they looked up at him. "Don't let them intimidate you just because of their age."

"But they're massive," one of the girls said as she stared at them. Her name was Suzanne and she was one of the few who were at all nice to him.

"They're stronger too," Phil, the boy that resembled Crabbe, stated.

"Well," they all looked at Draco semi-hopefully, "You'll definitely lose with that train of thought."

"You know, you're supposed to encourage us. Give us an inspirational speech or something. Lift our spirits," a boy named Jeremiah said as he leaned on his broom.

"Can't be bothered," Draco replied as he donned his gloves.

"What do you mean 'Can't be bothered'. It's your job! Besides we'll lose otherwise," one of the girls said.

"I'm going to pass on teaching disrespectful children such as yourselves."

"Wh- What?"

"You heard me," Draco said. He turned and strode towards Potter.

* * *

Harry grimaced. His sixth year campers had started out very well at the beginning of the match. The fourth years had clearly been intimidated by them and had not been playing at their best. Now however, they were more tactical and Harry could not help but wonder what Malfoy had said to them during the break.

Looking back at the pitch now the two seekers were flying quite fast as they chased the snitch. From his position Harry was unable to see the little golden ball, he simply watched as their forms rose and dived, swerving around players and narrowly avoiding bludgers. Harry was beginning to worry though. The sixth years might have the most points at the moment but the fourth years had a seeker on their team, Ravenclaw's to be exact. Maria Hedgelong, she was bright and she was determined and since it was summer and camp had little to do with any sort of academics she was focused and full of intent. As Hedgelong moved ahead of Langston, Harry clapped his hand over his face. He groaned at the sound of Malfoy's smug laugther, it was both annoying and intriuging and he hated himself for so conflicted.

"Looks like I won Potter."

"You didn't win Malfoy, your campers did," Harry said as he avoided looking at the man.

"That still means I won. Who knew the Golden Boy was a such sore loser," Malfoy said as he walked over to his team, their cheers and laughter filling the air.

* * *

"So he didn't say anything?" Ron asked as they walked along the lake.

"Nope, not at all." Harry shook his head as he spoke. Something had bothered Harry during the match and it was when he smelled the scent of lemon that he remembered. The prank they had pulled on Malfoy, he did not seem bothered by it at all.

"Nothing?" Ron asked again, it was hard to believe that their efforts had been wasted when the man was known to through tantrums.

"For the last time Ron, nothing," Harry said as he stopped and looked out on the water. He wanted to taste the lemon icing on his tongue.

* * *

"C'mon Granger, you're helping me get rid of it," Draco said as he stood by her room.

"Back to last names so quickly, Malfoy?" she said as she removed her shoes.

"Well, I am a little peeved by the mattress sized cake in the lobby."

Hermione sighed, "All right, fine. But only because I don't want ants crawling all over the place."

Draco smiled and walked back into the lobby. "So, what do you think we should do with it?"

"Transfigure it into something useful?"

"Like what?"

"I dont know," she deadpanned.

"How helpful."

"Have you thought of anything?"

"We could... shrink it an then dump it somewhere..."

"True." Hermione leaned forward and poked the surface of the cake.

"Has the Weasel's obsession with food spread to you?"

"It has not. And I don't suppose you've found a better man."

"The prat is just as bad as the Weasel... perhaps not so hungry though." Draco mumbled as he contemplated his love interest.

"You have a boyfriend then?" Hermione asked with a curious glint her eyes, it was somewhat reminiscent of the way Pansy looks when she's interested in something.

"No, he's just... some ridiculous crush. Not at all interesting." Draco turned to walk away.

"Well, who is it?"

"No one."

"I know who it is don't I?" Draco stopped and looked at her, his expression stern. "So I do then."

"Granger..."

"Well? Who?" she asked tugging at his arm, reluctantly he let her pull him towards her.

"I'm not telling you." Draco said, stubborn as ever. "Maybe we should finish getting rid of the cake."

"Oh come on. You got to see me in my knickers," Hermione said as Draco stood in front of the cake.

"That counts for nothing. It wasn't at all appealing." and before he knew it he was falling face first into the cake.

* * *

Hermione! St-stop!" Malfoy bellowed, he was laughing heartily, something Harry had never really heard before but wished he had.

"Then stop... throwing... cake... at me," She replied, sounding surprisingly amused. Harry and Ron looked at one another and rushed to get into the tent. A surprised scream came from inside, it was Hermione's voice. When they reached inside Harry stopped in shock and Ron blazed forward. Malfoy was atop Hermione, they were on a dilapidated mound of cake, and his hands were running along her abdomen as she laughed hysterically.

"Malfoy!" Ron called loudly, the man's head snapped up and Hermione stopped laughing. Ron punched him right across the face causing him to fall to the side.

"Draco!" Hermione shrieked, she turned to her boyfriend, "Ron, what are you-"

"Not now Hermione!" he yelled. Malfoy was getting up and Ron punched him again, falling forward into the cake with him. Ron grabbed him by the shirt and before he could land another blow Malfoy rolled them to the side, giving Ron a few solid punches while he was off guard and striking him once in the throat. As Ron coughed Malfoy got up, the corner of his right eye was bruised and bleeding and his top lip was cracked and bleeding as well.

"Great Salazar Slytherin. What in Merlin's name was that for?" Draco asked as he wiped some blood off his face. Ron got up and went straight for Malfoy. Hermione was standing nearby yelling at him to stop and Harry quickly pulled her to the side.

"Don't you TOUCH her!" Ron shouted giving Malfoy an uppercut to the stomach. Malfoy gave a slight chuckle. Ron hit him with a cross punch and Malfoy hook punched him then grabbed him behind the neck and pulled him down and kneed him in the stomach. Harry took the opportunity to grab Ron by the arm and pull him away from Malfoy. He struggled with Harry and almost got free a few times. Hermione was standing in front of Malfoy to prevent him from getting to Ron but he did not seem interested in continuing the fight.

"Hermione, I'm not going to jump him," Malfoy said as he caught his breath.

"Don't talk to her you filthy-"

"Ron. Ron, calm down," Harry said as he held him in place.

"Ron, are you all right?" Hermione asked as she walked up to him. She looked worried and concerned. Ron shrugged Harry off and stood up properly.

"What the bloody hell was that a while ago Mione? He was all over you!" Ron shouted

"Ron, it was nothing. We were just-"

"Just what? Hermione, he was all. Over. You." Ron said sending a glare in Malfoy's direction. Harry moved somewhere between the two, not quite trusting them to be civilized.

"We were... playing. Look, I don't know how else to describe it, all right? And he wasn't all over me, it's Draco for Merlin's sake." she said frustrated.

"He was!" Ron bellowed.

"I beg to disagree," Malfoy said. As he stood opposite them.

"You don't have a say in this!" Ron yelled at him and Harry decided that he better take Malfoy away from Ron for the time being.

"Come on Malfoy," Harry said as he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the tent.

"Potter, don't manhandle me," Malfoy said as he walked out the tent. Harry sighed, let him go and headed in the direction of Seamus' tent. Hopefully Pansy was there.

"Malfoy, you aren't... interested in Hermione, are you?" Harry asked glancing at him. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"After all these years can you even fathom me fancying Hermione?" Draco asked him.

"You're on a first name basis. You were on top of her with your hand up her shirt and the two of you seemed to be having a very good time," Harry said dryly.

"Potter, you're ridiculous. We're only on a first name basis because after having to remove the mattress of cake from my room, trying to fix my discoloured clothes and getting the ants out the room we had... bonded. That was entirely your and the Weasel's fault." Harry looked at him and was about to speak but he continued. "And my hand, it's not as if I was fondling her or anything of the sort. She pushed me into the cake and we ended up throwing cake around and harassing one another. You Gryffindors are far too rash. Merlin, I hate the taste of blood."

"Earlier today you... you didn't look upset at all," Harry murmured.

"I guess that was me getting back at the two of you. Where are we walking to Potter?"

"Slytherin bastard." Harry said, he and Ron had gotten upset at Malfoy's nonchalant behaviour during the day.

"Hermione's idea actually. Where are we going?" Draco repeated.

"Bloody..." Harry sighed, leave it to Hermione to ruin their fun. "Parkinson's tent."

"Potter, you are not taking me there in this state." Malfoy said as he stopped walking.

"We're already here, and that's exactly why I'm taking you." Harry said sternly.

"Potter..."

"Parkinson!" Harry bellowed as he stared at Malfoy, and watched the other man's eyes reveal his anger and smiled slightly.

"You little-"

"Hm? Draco! What the bloody hell did you do this time?" Parkinson said when she saw him. She pulled him inside and Harry walked in after him.

* * *

Pansy took Draco to one of the spare rooms in her tent. He was sitting on a stool as she examined him, casting various charms as she went along. He had to admit that Pansy was good at what she did, but she was also unnaturally curious. She kept glancing at him and there was no doubt in Draco's mind that she was formulating various reasons as to why he was battered and bruised and covered in cake and icing.

"Did Potter-" Pansy started.

"No, Pans." Draco sighed, he was lucky she was quiet for as long as she was.

"So explain to me the reason for your being covered in cake and bruises," she said as she rubbed healing balm on his ribs.

"The Weasel attacked me," he stated.

"Ron Weasley? What for?" she asked, slightly amused.

"Must you smile?" Draco asked and she gave him the 'why-do-you-even-ask?' expression. He sighed and continued. "He walked into the tent when Hermione-"

" _Hermione_? Since when do you say Hermione?" Pansy asked as she stopped what she was doing.

"Since today. May I continue now? Hermione and I were rolling around in the pile of cake in the lob-"

"The what?" Pansy stopped all together now and put her things down. She lay on her stomach in the empty bed, "Start from the top."

Draco sighed and cursed Potter for taking him to see Pansy. He turned to face her and started telling her the day's events.

When Draco walked back into the lobby Blaise and Potter were playing a game of wizard's chess. Blaise looked rather smug while Potter had a look of concentration on his face. Draco eye's traced Potter's features, he always admired how defined the man's jaw was, especially in profile. If he would get a more sensible pair of glasses then all would be well, but the man wore those out dated circular glasses that did absolutely nothing to compliment his features.

"Checkmate," Blaise said as he smiled victoriously.

"You're kidding me..." Potter said as he started at the board in disbelief. He watched as his king crumbled before him.

"Off you go now," Blaise said as he collected the pieces.

Potter sighed and got out his seat. "Yeah. Malfoy you done now?"

"For quite some time," Draco said, he wanted to go back to his room and sleep. If he spent the night in this tent Pansy would harass him all night.

"Draco, maybe you should stay over by Potter's tonight," Pansy said, a rather coy look on her face.

"I'm sorry, what?" Potter asked.

"The Wea- I mean Weasley's probably over there now. More than likely he's still upset as well," Pansy explained.

"So why can't you keep him?"

"This is also the medical tent Potter. She needs the extra rooms for emergency purposes," Blaise stated from the couch.

"Bloody Slytherins," Draco murmured under his breath, "Night then, you two. Come along Potter."

Draco and Potter left Pansy's tent and after stopping at Potter's tent to pick up some clothes and towels they headed to the showers. Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of his home brewed shampoo. He had been supplying Pansy with stock for some time now and was glad she had carried some with her since his things were back in his and Hermione's tent. He placed it in one of the lockers and started to undress. He grimaced as he pulled his shirt off, the cake and icing making it uncomfortable. Draco put the shirt in the locker disdainfully and began to toe off his shoes and unbutton his pants.

"Is that yours?" he heard Potter ask. He looked up and saw him gesturing towards the locket around his neck. It was old and intricate, the colour was a worn gold. The front was caged and the centre of it had flower in the centre that stretched to the edges of the locket. It was oval shaped and had three small flowers made of jade dangling from it. He had found it one night when he was going through his mother's things and was surprised to see a small enchanted picture of his family inside. He was a baby, still unable to walk judging from his size, and his father was holding him, smiling in a way Draco had never actually seen for himself and his mother was looking down at him, her chin resting on Lucius' shoulder.

"It's my mother's," he said as he looked down at it, tracing the edge with his thumb.

"Oh..." Potter looked at him with a sincerity Draco had never thought he would see directed at him. "I'm sorry about what happened to her."

"You and me both Potter, " he said turning away from him as he finished undressing.

As Draco stood under the hot shower he lathered his body, his mind wandering to the day his mother had died. He was coming home from the Ministry after he and his father had finished some paper work. After the Dark Lord had stayed at their home the wards were not what they used to be. Some persons that were very anti-Death Eater had broken through and gone into the house. Since Narcissa was the only one there they had killed her, but not before torturing her first. There were scrapes and bruises all over her body. Ministry officials had an investigation to find the criminals but they never pursued it seriously. Draco closed his eyes, took a deep breath, rinsed off and tended to his hair. His eyes burned but it was not from the shampoo. When he was done he grabbed his towel and got out, drying off as he walked. He paid Potter no attention, save for a few stolen glances at his well toned back. As Draco got dressed Potter approached him.

"Malfoy, I didn't mean to upset you. And I meant what I said. Narcissa was a good woman," Potter told him. Draco never understood when the two had reached goods terms with one another, he never really got the chance to ask her.

"Potter," Draco said as he finished pulling his shirt on, "Thank you for the kind words, but I'd rather we not talk about this." Draco grabbed his things and Potter sighed, turning back for his belongings before they left the changing rooms.

* * *

Harry sighed as he entered the tent. He had not meant to upset Malfoy, how was he supposed to know the locket belonged to his mother? Harry went into the makeshift kitchen and set a kettle of water to boil and then sat and waited. He contemplated whether or not to ask Malfoy if he wanted a cup or if he should just make the cup of tea since he already knew how he liked it. The kettle whistled and out went the flames. He poured his cup of tea and after thinking it over once more he made Malfoy a cup. _Three sugars, no cream_ he thought as he got another tea bag.

Malfoy was sitting down right outside the tent, he was watching the stars. The sight was a bit unexpected and Harry walked over to him and sat down, making sure to leave a good enough distance between them. Harry held out the cup of tea and after staring at it for a while Malfoy took it. Harry sipped his tea and was relieved when Malfoy finally put the cup to his lips. They sat there in silence for a while and Harry was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"You know how I like my tea," Draco stated before taking another sip.

"Yeah," Harry said, finishing his cup.

"Why?"

"You... told me."

"Did I...?" Draco said and Harry sighed.

"I knew it..." he mumbled, "You forgot didn't you? "

"Forgot what?"

"I mean we were bloody pissed, it's a wonder I remember anything." Harry continued.

"Potter, as entertaining as it is to hear you ramble like fool, what are you talking about?" Draco asked staring at him.

"Last Christmas, the party down by Raving Rascals..." Harry started, hoping he would not have to finish.

"Merlin, was it your apartment I woke up in?" Malfoy looked conflicted at the revelation.

"Well, yeah. I was in the shower and when I came back you we-"

"Did we shag?" Draco asked. Harry blushed and looked away. "And I can't bloody remember it..."

"Maybe we should go inside now..." Harry said as he got up. He went to the kitchen and started washing his cup. Malfoy followed him inside and surprisingly started washing his own once Harry had finished with the sponge.

"Want to have another go at it?" Malfoy said as Harry finished drying his cup.

"Malfoy..." Harry exhaled slowly to calm himself down, "Are you propositioning me?"

"Yes." he replied as he rinsed his cup.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Harry mumbled.

"I'll be there in the morning. Promise." Malfoy said as he put his cup down and looked at Harry. Part of him expected the man to just kiss him so he would not have to deal with the internal conflict, but no such luck.

"That's hard to believe," Harry said, glancing at those rosy lips.

"Contrary to popular belief Potter, I don't hate you." Harry thought he saw Malfoy flush but it was hard to be sure.

"Malfoy," Harry could not take it anymore, Malfoy was offering himself up to him and he would be a fool to turn down the offer. "I get to top this time," Harry said before walking to his room.

"Fine by me," Malfoy said as he followed.

When they reached Harry's room Malfoy wasted no time. He claimed Harry's lips the moment he turned to face him and backed him up against the wall. The kiss was slow and molten hot, Malfoy pressed himself firmly against Harry and after a long snog he pulled away and smiled down at Harry. The two quickly undressed and Draco lay on the bed as Harry went to fetch the lube.

"Potter, hurry up or I'll start without you."

Harry moaned as Malfoy rode him, rolling his hips slowly and steadily picking up speed. His hands were on either side of Harry's head and his hair fell in front of his face, soft pants escaping his lips. Harry held on to Malfoys hips and panted as he watched the other man grinding above him, his fluid movements becoming harder, faster, more desperate. Harry slid his hand between them and wrapped his fingers around Malfoys length, eliciting a groan from the man and something that sounded vaguely like "Harry". Harry stroked a few times and soon Malfoy was bucking wildly. Harry sat up and wrapped an arm around Malfoy's waist, the man grunted as his release came, coating them both with his fluids as he spasmed around Harry, who was close now.  
"Ungh... Harry." Malfoy panted. Harry leaned forward, laying Malfoy on his back and began pounding away as Malfoy was still recovering from his orgasm. With groan Harry came, filling Malfoy with his warmth.

"Dr- Draco... ah." he thrust a few more times before lying atop the man in a tired heap. He panted, catching his breath then raised himself up enough to look Draco in the eyes. He kissed him long and slow before pulling out and rolling off of him.

* * *

Draco woke up and for a moment he was lost. The warmth he was wrapped in smelled a lot like Potter and he smiled as he remembered the nights events. Draco had been admiring Potter's... _Harry's_ arse for quite some time now. He had thought that over the years at Hogwarts he was only upset at not being able to befriend the boy but a few very revealing dreams in fourth year told him otherwise. Not to mention how much Cho Chang and the Ginger upset him without so much as doing anything. Their social situation however never allowed for Draco to act on his feelings, not to mention his family's relations with the Dark Lord. Draco got up and carefully made his way out the bed, wincing a bit as he did so. He located a pair of boxer-briefs and put them on before heading to the kitchen. He set the kettle on the fire, boiling some water to make tea. He got the tea bags and cups and took put three sugars in his before place the tea bags in his cup and Harry's. He didn't know how he took his tea so he put the cup in a saucer with a few cubes of sugar on the side as well as some of those muggle packaged creams he had found. Before the kettle started going off he took it off the flame and poured water into the cups. He let the hot water dissolve the sugar and let the tea set for a while before going back to the room. He heard a frustrated groan come from inside Harry's bedroom and suppressed a laugh as he watched him throw a pillow across the room. Draco sipped his tea.

"Upset are we?" Draco said as he walked in. Harry turned around in surprise and his cheeks flushed.

"Uhm... " Harry mumbled as he looked around the floor.

"I didn't know how you took your tea," Draco said as he held it up. Harry located his pants and put them on.

"You're... still here." he replied, taking the tea from him.

"Was I supposed to leave?" Draco asked, sipping his tea. He worried a bit about Harry's reply.

"No, not at all." Harry said before looking away and preparing his tea. "Uhm... Two sugars and a cream."

"Hm? Oh, your tea." Draco rubbed his thumb along the handle of his cup repeatedly. "So..."

"Potter, have you-" Blaise walked into the room and stopped when he noticed the two of them, "Draco... there you are. Pansy's looking for you and it's almost time for breakfast. Oh, and Granger gave me some clothes to give you, your wand too."

"Thanks, Blaise," Draco said as he took his belongings, Blaised smirked at him before turning to Harry.

"Weasley's heading over here. Thought you might want to know." Blaise said before leaving.

"I'll be going then. I'd rather not start the morning with a black eye," Draco said.

"... Yeah," Harry said looking at him. Draco walked over to him and kissed his cheek.

"See you later," he said, turning to leave.

"See you later, Draco," Harry said as Draco walked out. He downed the rest of his tea and looked outside before he went out. Weasley was almost at the tent and he would not be able to get out unnoticed so he went in the nearest empty room and peered out. Once Weasley had gone into Harry's room Draco left the tent. It did not matter that he was in his pants, everyone would more than likely assume it was another prank.

At breakfast Weasley kept sending glares in Draco's direction and Harry looked like he was trying to avoid eye contact with him all together. Draco sighed and finished his food; he could not tell if he was happy about what happened last night or not. He was glad to have slept with Harry, but he would not have minded them starting off in a different way. Now, the next time they spoke would be somewhat awkward, or at least that was the only way he was able to picture it. Draco saw Hermione walking his way and raised his brow at her. She gave a slight smile and handed him a card, he took it and stood, glancing at Weasley as he did so. The man was staring at them intently.

"Pansy wants you to collect some herbs for her and brew a few potions. I figure you could carry some of the campers with you," She said politely.

"I'm guessing that's why she's been looking for me," Draco mumbled, he could not help but smile a little. The woman was the reason he had stayed over at Harry's tent in the first place.

"I'm sorry about Ron," she said looking at him now.

"Don't worry about it, Pansy fixed me up and Potter was a very... welcoming host," Draco said, "I'll go look for Pans."

"Good to hear, I guess. Later then. I'll go get any campers that are interested," Hermione said. Draco headed over to Pansy's tent with a small smile on his face.

"Pans, you are exquisite," Draco said as he sat down in the lobby area.

"Blaise told me already. Did Granger give you the list?" she asked as she sat beside him combing her hair.

"Yeah. I've yet to look at it though." Draco said as he pulled it out his pocket and Pans looked at him in a way that said 'you-can't-be-serious'. He smiled at her before reading the card. _Soothing oil_ , _Draught of Peace_ , sleep draught and ashwinder eggs. "Ashwinder eggs... you're joking aren't you? There's no way I would be able locate these with a set of students following me. Soothing oil? I'll need wolfsbane for that... you can't expect me to carry reckless students to collect a poisonous plant."

"They're more sensible than you give them credit for," Pansy murmured unconvincingly. "Anyway, were you pleased or disappointed?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Draco said before getting up. "I need to check the potions store to see what ingredients are missing. I'll come by later."

"You're no fun Draco. You used to be so much more fun to gossip with," Pansy said while he was walking out. He chuckled at her statement.

Draco had checked the potions store and most the ingredients were there save for hellebore syrup, sopophorus beans and wolfsbane, and luckily for Pansy there were ashwinder eggs in the potions store. Draco went back to the fourth year campsite and met up with Hermione. She was talking to a few students, eight to be exact. Two of which was Maria Hedgelong and Suzanne Bedlam. Hermione was warning the students about the dangers of wondering around in the Forbidden Forest and the importance of staying within the group. Draco had brought four cauldrons along with him and handed three and handed them to the students nearest to him. Once Hermione was finished with her safety lecture Draco bid them good morning and led the way to forest. As they walked he spoke about the plants they would be collecting and their uses. Maria was quite knowledgeable and very enthusiastic to learn while the other students simply listened on, she reminded him of Hermione in some ways, _the girl would never shut up in classes_. As they approached the perimeter of the forest Draco designated specific cauldrons for specific plants and before they headed in he reminded them not the use magic on the ingredients, as it would lessen their quality.

After collecting the hellebore and sopophorus beans Draco and the students travelled deeper into the forest. He had had no real incidents with them as yet, a few coy remarks and small displays of defiance, but nothing overly infuriating. He supposed being in a forest full of magical creatures was keeping them in check. As they neared an area that had a fair amount of aconitum, or wolfsbane, plants he stopped and turned around.

"Now, as we all know aconitum is poisonous so take care with it. If it gets in your blood stream then we'll have to take you to the medical tent and though you most likely won't die, you most definitely will not enjoy the effects of aconitum poisoning while you're waiting to be treated." With that said Draco pulled out his gloves and slipped them on, the students who had brought gloves following suit. He demonstrated how to properly cut the plant and to avoid getting any of its sap on their skin. After doing so he watched them as they attempted gathering some on their own, the students without gloves watching from nearby. They wrapped the wolfsbane in paper and tied it closed with string. Draco put his clippings into the cauldron he had. The ingredients collected by the students would be added to the school's potions store and some used in small potions class Draco had decided to hold once they reached back at the camp.

As they got ready to leave Draco heard something rustling in the trees around them. He stopped the students and listened carefully as he looked above them, his wand at the ready. It was quiet once more and Draco decided that they needed to leave the forest as quickly as possible. He instructed the students to start moving, he stayed at the back of the group in the event that there was something lingering behind them.

"Do you lot remember the way back?" Draco asked as they walked. He was feeling uneasy.

"What?" asked one of the students in shock.

"Uhm, yes," Maria said nervously, looking around.

"Yeah," said Jeremiah as well.

"Good. If the group gets separated we should all be able to find our way back then," Draco said, hoping that would not have to happen.

"What do you mean if we-"

"Kyaaaaa!" Maria screamed, Draco cast a _Protego_ as something swooped down at them screeching as it did so. The creature attacked the shield relentlessly and Draco knew it would not hold for long.

"Go!" Draco shouted at them as he turned to get a good look at the beast. He was stunned to see that it was an Occamy, a cross between a serpent and a bird. Its beak was sharp and dark, feathers slicked back at the top of its head, a long neck, bird like body and wings and a long feathered tail. The Occamy was a beautiful white, with grey and black feathers and silver eyes. The creature screeched at him as it tore through his shield. Draco threw stunning spells at the creature, they only seemed to slow it down, he glanced behind him to see if the students were well on their way back to the camp and only Maria was in sight. He cast an _Incendio_ at the occamy, causing nearby plants to catch flame, the creature flapped and screeched as it flapped its wings and Draco cast an _Incarcerous_ tying the animal down. He turned and ran towards the campers. He sent a _Patronus_ to Hermione to alert her of the situation and hopefully get some help.

"Everyone alright?" he asked as they made their way back quickly. Everyone had confirmed their health Draco pressed them to move quickly, glancing behind them to check if the creature had caught up with them, the ropes and fire would only distract it for a short period of time. An angry screeching came from behind them, getting louder and louder far too quickly. The students began to panic and race forward.

"Careful! Watch where you're going!" Draco yelled at them, "Stay together!" Draco turned around to see the creature tearing through the forest, knocking over trees as if they were nothing, as it charged towards them. Maria slid in the dirt and fell, falling behind. Draco cursed as he stopped to get her, the other students glanced behind them but kept going. The creature looked as if it was about the strike and Draco grabbed her and pulled her to the side. The occamy screech and snapped, its wings flapping wildly, breaking branches and sending debris everywhere.

" _Sectumsempra_!" Draco hissed but it barely cut the beast and only seemed to irritate it more. He pulled Maria up but she fell back down, her leg was bleeding. He picked her up quickly and looked for somewhere to go, their path was blocked with branches and bark. Cursing under his breath he went off the path, going deeper into the forest, the beast screeching loudly behind them. It seemed to fly up into the air and Draco pressed forward. He ended up in a small clearing with a small ditch on the other side. He did not want to go out in the open, but needed somewhere to find shelter.

"Maria, how are you doing?" he asked, her face had dirt on it and she had tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay ... I-I'll be fine," she said.

"Alright, I'm going to carry you to that ditch over there, you should be safe." he said calmly. She nodded and after glancing towards the air he ran forward. A gust of wind came from above and he stumbled forward, turning to the side so he would not crush the girl when he fell. He recovered quickly and rolled them to the side as the occamy snapped at them. Getting up he dismissed the used of civilized methods. He cast several rather questionable slicing charms at the creatures legs and as it howled he grabbed Maria, she held on to him and they made their way to the ditch, Draco supporting her as she limped, he turned as he heard the occamy screech as it flew backwards flapping its wings at them. He hit the ground hard, groaning as he sat up, they were near the ditch now and he cast an _incarcerous_ at the creature's legs as it approached them, it fell forward screeching and Draco grabbed Maria and got up. They struggled towards the ditch and as they reached it he turned to see the occamy freed of its bindings. He cast a shield charm to buy time and carefully lowered Maria through the opening. There seemed to be enough space for about three people and once Maria was safely inside Draco turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

Draco shot multiple stunning spells at the creature, knowing they would have little effect in small amounts. It charged at him and he cast a shielding charm, giving him time to move out of the way. He sent a _sectumsempra_ at the creature's eye but missed. He looked at it carefully and decided to attack it's wings, face and legs. He took a deep breath and cast _incendio_ at one of the wings. The occamy wailed and flapped as its wing was scorched, it did not seem to slow it down much and Draco hit it with a few more stunning spells as well the occasional cruciatus curse to slow it down. It snapped at him and he stumbled to the side to avoid it, getting hit with its wing right after. He fell backwards nearby the ditch, he made to get up but was met with a searing pain in his chest. The occamy snapped at him and caught his leg between its beak. Draco cried out in pain as his leg broke and sent a _sectumsempra_ at the creature's eye. It screeched and wailed, releasing his leg and backing away as it thrashed.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Maria screamed as she heard him. He rolled onto his side and crawled towards the ditch, pulling himself with his hands and pushing himself forward with his good leg. Draco was thankful he was so close to the opening.

"Make room..." he told her as pulled himself over the opening. He made his way in head first and when his arms could not guide him in anymore he held them out to Maria. "Help me down." he grunted.

"Ah... o-okay." She reached for his hand and when she managed to grab hold of him there was a loud screech. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

"Hurry." he said as he pulled himself forward, she pulled him down and he tumbled into the ditch. They fell hard and groaned in agony. The occamy screeched at them, louder and angrier than ever. Draco panted as he caught his breath, "Bloody hell... You alright?"

"Me? I should be asking you that!" she yelled as she looked him over.

"Never mind me. I've lived with a madman in my home. I think I'll be fine with a few broken bones and some scratches," Draco said. He sat up slowly, wincing as he did so. He pulled himself towards the wall and leaned back on it. "Let me see your leg."

* * *

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Parkinson and Astoria Greengrass ran down to the forbidden forest after Hermione had received Draco's message. They had come across seven of the eight students on their way there and Pansy was tending to them. They were stammering something about a large white creature that looked like a flying snake on a bird's body. The coordinators had all identified it to be an occamy. They were violent and had a very high danger rating. They group went into the forest and began their search.

They checked areas known to grow hellebore and had no luck. Harry kept glancing around in the hopes of spotting a head of blond hair. They continued further into the forest and Greengrass called them over to a section of the forest that was wrecked and full of debris. Trees had fallen and branches were scattered on the ground. They blasted through a barricade of debris that blocked their path and followed the wreckage deeper into the forest. They called for Draco and Maria and got no reply. Harry ran a hand through his hair as they reached the end of the trail. They searched the nearby area, looking everywhere and anywhere they saw. The forest was getting dark and it was beginning to get chilly. If the two were injured the cold would not do them any good and neither would a fair amount of nocturnal creatures.

" _Lumos,_ " Harry whispered, a glow of light came from his wand and he sighed in frustration.

"Maybe we should retrace our steps..." Greengrass suggested, "Go back to the barricade." Harry could hear the worry in her voice and wondered what relationship she had with Draco.

"I think we should. This... this seems more like the area they would have been attacked in originally," Ron mumbled as he looked around.

They went back to the barricade and searched the area. The darkness making it a lot harder to look around. Ron pulled out the Put-Outer and released the balls of light that were trapped inside. They floated about them and hovered in the air.

"Ah, up there," Harry said as he looked up. The branches closest to the barricade had been broken higher up than the other trees that he could see, "It took off around here... but where'd it go...?" Harry looked around trying to think of an answer. He was feeling uneasy about them taking so long to find Draco and Maria.

"Search the area for tracks," Greengrass said, "Broken twigs, footprints, anything."

"It might have been following them when it took off," said Harry.

Wands still alight they scoured the perimeter. The less they found the more uneasy Harry felt. He looked over at Hermione as she worried her lip and wove between trees in her search. Harry bent down and looked for footprints, he moved leaves and levitated branches over to the opposite side of the barricade. After a few minutes Harry spotted something glimmering on the ground. He walked over to the source and knelt down, moving the leaves around it and smiled when he found Narcissa's locket.

"Found something!" he yelled, the others rushing over as he got up.

Harry pocketed the locket and walked over to the trees nearby. He cleared some of the leaves from the ground and spotted a footprint. Ron clicked his Put-Outer and the lights went back into their container. They all started their way through the trees and kept their eyes open for more clues. The darkness slowed them down a great deal since they had to spend more time to thoroughly check their surroundings. A few metres ahead of where Harry had found the locket Hermione had found traces of blood on some leaves. Harry tried not to let his mind wonder too much, his experiences from the war had him imagining the worst and made him more pessimistic than when he was a teenager. He took in a deep breath and told himself that Draco was more than capable of taking care of himself.

"Oh Godric, what if he's..." Greengrass started, "What if Draco's..."

"He's not," Hermione said. "Draco can take care of himself."

"How do you know that? You can't know that!" the woman started to cry now. She wiped her face and sniffed as she tried to calm herself down and just when Harry thought she was going be alright she started again. Her crying was not helping him at all, she had him worrying all over again and he tugged at his hair.

"We need to keep looking," He said looking at her. "If they're injured time is important. We don't know what state they're in and we've lost a good few hours already."

"He's right Astoria, you need to keep looking," Hermione agreed before turning around and continuing.

They had reached a small clearing and the ground looked devastated. There were large gashes in the earth and claw marks in the grass. They slowly made their way into the clearing and spread out to search. Greengrass had started to call out for Draco while Ron called for Maria. Harry found no sign of them and his frustration had started to build. Greengrass and Ron continued to call out for Draco and Maria and Hermione were walking to the opposite side of the clearing.

"There's a ditch over here!" she called as she bent down, pointing her wand towards the opening. "Draco? Maria?"

"Ms. Granger? Ms. Granger, is-is that you?"

"Maria!" she yelled. Harry and the others rushed over to them. "Maria, are you alright? Where's Draco?"

"I'm fine! He's here! I-I tried to keep him awake but h-he just kept dozing off I-" the girl sounded panicked and tired.

"We're going to get you out alright?" Ron pulled Hermione away from the opening and bent down, "Can you cast a shielding charm?"

"Y-Yes. Yes, I can."

"Alright, tell me when you've done that. I'm going make the opening wider."

"Weasley, what if you crush them?" Greengrass whispered harshly.

"We'll levitate the falling earth once he hits it." Harry said as he pointed his towards one side of Ron and she went to the other.

" _Protego_. There I've done it."

" _Reducto_!" Ron yelled as he pointed his wand to the ditch. Harry and Greengrass cast levitation charms on most the earth and rocks that were not blown away, the rest bouncing off of Maria's shield. Hermione rushed forward and levitated Maria out slowly as Ron extracted Draco. They set them on the ground carefully and Harry swallowed hard as he looked at Draco. He was covered in dirt and had scratches all over. His right leg was obviously broken and had bits of bloody cloth wrapped around it, the side of his face was caked with blood and there was a gash nearby his hairline. Harry sent a Patronus to Parkinson and knelt down to feel Draco's pulse.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes, it was bright and he grumbled as he turned his head away from it and made to cover his eyes but his arm felt too weak. There was a crashing sound and someone was holding his hand and cupping his cheek.

"Draco? Draco are you awake?" it was his father's voice, deep and full of relief.

"Father," his voice was cracked and his throat was dry. "I'm fine... Water?"

"Oh, Pansy! Pansy, some water please. Draco's awake." he said before turning back to Draco. His father's eyes were red and his hair was pulled back. He looked tired and worn. Draco looked around the room and realized he was not at home. Pansy came in, clothed her Medi-Witch uniform, carrying a glass of water. His father helped him up and his muscles felt stiff and sore. He took the water and drank it, wanting more.

"More," he said as he finished. Pansy gave him a stern look but took his glass and left the room. He looked at his father, "Is this St. Mungo's?"

"Yes, it is. Draco, do you remember what happened?" his father asked, still holding his hand.

"... No I..." Draco remembered being at the camp and going to collect some potion ingredients. Pansy walked back into the room with a jug of water and put it on the table near his bed before handing him the glass of water she had in her hand. Draco took it and stared at it as he thought.

"Draco?" his father rested a hand on his shoulder as he looked at him. Draco remembered seeing an occamy and running through the forest with...

"Maria! Is Maria alright? And the other students as well?" Draco asked as he looked at Pansy. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, the brats are fine. Camp got cut short though so 'most everyone's home now." Pansy answered. Draco nodded and drank the water. He wanted to ask about Potter, but not with his father in room. Lucius wanted Draco to marry Astoria and Draco could not bring himself to do it. He supposed he would have to tell him soon.

"How long has it been?" he asked as he gave Pansy the glass.

"Three days. I think you should be glad you were sleeping though." Pansy said matter-of-factly, "Your leg right leg, the bones were shattered beyond repair so they had to get rid of them and give you skele-gro to repair it. You also had a few broken ribs and some internal bleeding, in case you were wondering. You'll need a bit of physiotherapy, but otherwise you're perfectly fine. You can go to your apartment by tomorrow once I've run a few checks on you."

"Physiotherapy..." Draco wondered how he would cope with being unable to walk.

"He's coming back to the Manor with me. The house elves will tend to him and I'll have Astoria come and help." Draco and Pansy exchanged glances and Draco sighed and turned to his father.

"Father, don't call for Astoria to help, she'll only get her hopes up."

"Draco, what nonsense are you saying?" Lucius asked, "You'll need taking care of until you're fully healed." Draco took a deep breath.

"Father, I'm-"

"Draco!" Astoria and Hermione gasped.

"-Gay" Draco finished, ignoring the fact that Astoria, Hermione, Potter and Blaise just walked in. His father stared at him with furrowed brows then looked at Pansy then Blaise and back at him.

"... Wh-Since when... How did you... Are you sure?" Lucius stammered.

"Around fourth year. I'd rather you not know how. Yes, I'm sure." Draco stared his father in the eyes.

"..." Lucius closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before looking at Draco, "Merlin... this means your mother was... she was... bloody right. Draco, you're my son your... sexuality... I'm just glad that you're okay."

Draco was ready to leave the hospital. Pansy had run various tests on him, all of which bore good results. Draco could barely move his right leg so Pansy had gotten the privilege of changing him into his pants and trousers. After he had told his father about his sexuality Astoria had thrown a small tantrum before running out the room. Draco really did not know why she had not suspected it in the first place considering how many times he had turned down her advances. He sighed and waited for Pansy to come in to get him. He grabbed for his mother's locket on his chest before remembering he had lost it in the chase. There was a knock on the door and he looked up to see Harry coming inside.

"When you knock on someone's door you should wait until they reply before going inside." Draco said to him.

"Um..." Harry hesitated before walking up to him.

"I was joking, Harry." he said and watched as the other man gave a slight chuckle and walked over to the bed.

"I found this when we were looking for you," Harry said as he pulled a small paper bag out of his pocket. He handed it to Draco and sat on the bed. Draco looked at him before pouring its contents into his hand. It was his mother's locket. He smiled and slid it over his head. "Figured you might miss it."

"Harry, thank you." Draco said as he looked down on it.

"Well, it is yours."

"By the way Harry, you need to make up for that prank you and Weasley pulled on me."

"I what?"

"You'll have to take care of me at my apartment." Draco kissed Harry gently and smiled as he returned the favour. "By the way Harry, did you know that lemon cake was my favourite?"


End file.
